Sub-3:30 Marathon in 2012 (Read 1502 times)

There have been a few folks posting recently who, like me, didn't run a 2011 marathon as fast as their shorter race times might predict. I'm sure there is also a whole raft of RA'ers who have been tickling the 3:30 barrier looking for a way through... let's compare notes and make 2012 the sub-3:30 year!

This thread may be premature, but I'm certainly starting the plan the off-season and thinking about what I can achieve in the ice and snow of a Nova Scotian winter, aiming towards the Bluenose Marathon in May.

I'm not really sure what's required to set up a long term thread like this, and if a more experienced poster would like to take over, or at least advise, please fire away...

Congratulations on that. Did you qualify before the 2012 race sold out? I'm so far off a BQ, that it won't enter my thoughts for a very long time! My marathon previous best from 12 years ago was 3:20, and that still wouldn't get me in.

I have a 10k on Nov. 5 which will probably be my last race of the season, and then I'll concentrate on base building. This year I have been referring to Daniels' Running Formula and Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning, but neither book, and none other that I have yet come across, covers planning for the off-season. There aren't any races held here between Nov. and March, so it's all going to be about base mileage and consistent running.

MJBarry

King of wishful thinking

posted: 10/16/2011 at 11:19 AM

3:34 ! Mightily envious

After last weeks 3:51 I have until 29th April next year to get myself mentally and physically in shape to go sub 3:30. Winter in the UK is cross country season which begins next Saturday. A winter of mud, hills and some good base mileage awaits................

I'm in. Follow thread to give everyone an idea of how many are interested.

Run until the trail runs out.

SCHEDULE 2016--

The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

The analogous Sub-3:00 thread has done fairly well. (While I manage it for 2011, I take no credit for the idea!) Would y'all be looking for something like that?

Oh, and I'm in for sub-3:30 in 2012. Hopefully by a large margin, which would lop quite a bit off my 3:37 PR.

Yey, something like that thread but slower :-)

Julia1971

posted: 10/17/2011 at 8:12 AM

I’ll join in.

Even though I ran sub-3:30 this year, I’ve had some recent layoffs that put a hurtin’ on my running – a surgery in August that pretty much put me out of commission for the month and a two-week vacation in September. So, I’d be very happy with that time at Boston next year. I'm thinking of also running the Marine Corps Marathon next year if I can get in. But, I'm not excited about the idea of training for a marathon in the summer.

Right now I’m base building with the idea of starting marathon training in early December. My plan is to follow Pfitz 18/70-85.

“What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the fight in the dog. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

My plan is likely to be a kind of hybrid of Pfitzinger's 18/55, which means starting in January for a May marathon. That could be impossible due to weather. What about you? Boston in April means starting a build up quite soon?!

Even though I ran sub-3:30 this year, I’ve had some recent layoffs that put a hurtin’ on my running – a surgery in August that pretty much put me out of commission for the month and a two-week vacation in September. So, I’d be very happy with that time at Boston next year. I'm thinking of also running the Marine Corps Marathon next year if I can get in. But, I'm not excited about the idea of training for a marathon in the summer.

Right now I’m base building with the idea of starting marathon training in early December. My plan is to follow Pfitz 18/70-85.

That's a great marathon time, and the *right* way around compared with your other race PRs. There seem to be a lot of people who run slightly faster for a half, but are 10-20 min slower for the full. Is this down to total weekly mileage, I wonder? Were you following the 18/70-85 plan to run 3:27?